exhibition

That is the title of a captivating exhibition on show at BRASS Cultural Centre, here in Brussels* and which I had the opportunity to visit three weeks ago. The exhibition presents the work of 17 young contemporary Artists from 11 southern and eastern African countries. This is, in itself, a great opportunity, as it is not often that one can see contemporary African art in museums in Europe (although luckily this is becoming more and more common).

Furthermore the curator, Marie-Ann Yemsi, has done a great job by both making a brilliant selection of artists and creating a clear theme for the show, whose message is relevant beyond the art world. The exhibition has the past and the present as two poles between which the artists move, with their pieces reflecting at the same time contemporary reality and how the historical experience shapes the present.

Yemsi herself writes, in the introduction to the show, that Odysées Africaines is conceived as a polyphonic space which:

“involves a multiplicity of viewpoints and positions, and shows that unique ability of artists to play on several registers as they revitalis, update or fictionalise their various symbolic heritages to build unprecedented structures, produce prolific hybridisation or even create new utopias.”

A powerful and very much recommended show.

Athi-Patra Ruga, ‘Proposed model of the new Azania’ (C) and ‘Approved model of the new Azania’ (R)

*Indeed, one of the (few) positive aspects of living here is the big presence of African diasporas (not only from DRC, but also Rwanda and Burundi, former Belgian colonies as well, and from French-speaking Africa generally…) and – related to this – the large number of cultural events linked to the African continent.